Caught In the net

Those who prepared vs those who didn't

Exam season has hit White Island! The school got buzzing over studying and last minute consultation. In the Clubroom, even the guardians were revising their grammar rules.
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After morning assembly, 4-1 and 6-2 went to their exam venues for their tests. They silently sat down. Both classrooms had students of various emotions. Some sat up confidently, some muttered silent prayers and some fidgeted continuously.

"This paper is for students taking the English language," Mr Koh, 6-2's homeroom teacher, told 4-1.

"The papers would be given face-down," Mrs Lee instructed 6-2.

"Do not turn over the paper until we tell you to do so," both commanded, shooting killer stares at their students, as if they had the sixth sense and were inviting sting together. Thise who didn't prepare like Jarius sank in their seats, but those who prepared like Mindy kept a straight face.

At 8.00 am, the respective invigilators pressed the bell and chorused through their mics, "The time is 8.00am. You may begin!" After the simultaneous turning of the pages, it was pure silence.
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Jarius, who only briefly flipped through his textbooks, realise the questions were swimming in his head. He could not make any sense for the first question:

1. If Ben ___ had listened to our advice, he would not have been robbed.
1. Has
2. Had
3. Have
4. Would
()
Jarius crammed up, trying desperately not to cry. In the end, Jarius chose 4, and continued filling "4" for the rest of the blanks.
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Mindy had prepared, so she managed to finish the paper with 15 minutes to spare. Within the 15 minutes, she spotted 3 careless mistakes, which would have costed her 5 marks if she did not spot them.
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Jarius struggled through the paper and left 2 blank pages when the paper finished.
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After the paper, Mindy carried her bag and discussed the questions with her classmates. She got a lot of questions right, so she was confident about her performance. Just then, Flora lipped her hands over her shoulders.

"Mindy, why don't we study Maths at your place today?" Flora suggested. Mindy nodded enthusiastically.
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After the paper, Jarius went to his seat and slumped down. He totally flunked the first paper. Everyone was saying the paper was easier than they thought, making him feel inferior.
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Friday, after all the papers finished...

"We finished marking the papers. Most of you stopped from your mock tests, but it was harder than expected, so I will close an eye. Work hard for SA1, ok?" Mrs Lee announced.

"Ok!" The class replied.

"Good. We will now give the papers out..."
To be continued